Completed Projects
A Controlled Comparison Study to Evaluate Different Management Strategies for Workplace Trauma
This fully funded project was carried out within the Royal Mail Group. It addressed two issues:
- should organisations debrief workers who have suffered or witnessed traumatic events?
- if not, what should they do instead?
This is believed to be the first study to look at trauma in an occupational setting, and to include groups of people rather than just individuals. In addition it is believed to be the first to include witnesses to traumatic events. A conference to launch the results of this project took place in November 2006.
Destructive Interpersonal Workplace Conflict - Bullying: Effectiveness of Management Interventions
Aimed at providing an organisational audit tool, a risk assessment tool and identifying effective interventions for given situations, based on phase 1 of research funded by BOHRF. Phase 1 established for the first time the apparent scale of bullying at work, and the sectors in which it appears to be most prevalent. A conference to launch the findings of this research took place in November 2006.
Detergent Enzyme Sensitisation and Asthma at Work: Exposure Response Relationship
Follow-up research relevant to the general management of allergens at work. Completed in September 2005, the aims were:
- to measure the success of the factory's improvement programme in the prevention of enzyme sensitisation and asthma
- to identify the quantitative nature of the relationship between enzyme exposures and the development of IgE sensitisation and asthma
- to explore the reasons for the original failure of control, which are likely to have significant implications for enzyme usage
BOHRF grant for this work £20,592.
Occupational Asthma: Identification, Management and Prevention: Evidence Based Review and Guidelines
Please click on the above link to access our page on occupational asthma and information about this evidence review including downloadable summaries. You can obtain free hard copies of the evidence review report and summaries on application to BOHRF.
Workplace Interventions for People with Common Mental Health Problems: Evidence Review and Recommendations
Please click on the above link to get to our mental health page, and download the full evidence review and summary version. You can obtain hard copies of the full report and summaries, free of charge, on application to BOHRF.
Back Pain Evidence Review & Lay Evidence Summary
The application of the findings of this award winning research should enable a substantial reduction in time off work due to lower back pain.
This work addressed key questions about the major category of occupational ill health in the UK and delivered the answers to GPs, line managers, and employees. A separate summary of the evidence provided answers for occupational physicians based on that evidence.
Review and analysis of worldwide literature for evidence resulted in answers which have had substantial impact on subsequent practice.
- What is the best option for someone suffering lower back pain?
- What is the best option for someone off work with lower back pain?
- What is the best option for someone who has been off work over four weeks with lower back pain?
- Is there a reliable way to predict who might get back pain?
- Do lumbar supports help those at risk of lower back injury?
In addition to winning the BUPA Occupational Health Award for 2000, the vision of the project was commended by the then Minister for Public Health, Yvette Cooper.
Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome: An Evidence Based Review and Summary for Managers and Workers
Many workers are affected by HAVS – over 300,000 in the UK alone. Co-funded with the EEF, a FOM-led project to provide evidence-based practical advice for occupational health professionals with an emphasis on clinical testing and management of the individual; summary of the evidence for occupational health professionals on the management of clinical aspects of hand transmitted vibration in the workplace; evidence summary for safety representatives, employees, line managers. Launched 28 April 2004.
The full evidence review may be purchased from the Faculty of Occupational Medicine.
In addition to seedcorn funding from our sponsors, Transco and the HSE generously contributed project funding. A condition of BOHRF co-funding of £40,000 was the extension of the project to include publication of a summary of the evidence for line managers and workers, made possible by sponsorship from GSK's small donations scheme. HAVS is included in the Physical Agents Directive, now implemented in the UK via regulations and guidance in 2005. The next phase of this project is joint FOM/HSE Guidance on Health Surveillance.
Managing Attendance at Work: An Evidence Based Review
Project funding from Exxon Mobil enabled this research to be completed in September 2002. It determined the current state of knowledge about the effective management of sickness absence and, having found that there is little published good evidence, identifies gaps in that knowledge, and indicates priorities for future research. A major finding is that there is good published evidence that early and regular contact with those off work sick can reduce the length of their absence.
Destructive Interpersonal Conflict and Bullying at Work
This research established, for the first time, the prevalence of bullying at work in the UK, and the employment sectors in which it is most prevalent. It attracted substantial media attention.
Research evidence obtained from this work was input to phase 2 which was completed in 2006 and was designed to
- Establish a risk assessment tool kit for assessing the risk of bullying in organisations
- Identify the interventions most likely to be effective in given situations
The application of these tools in organisations where bullying does occur had the capability to substantially improve morale and staff retention, and to reduce risk of claims for compensation or at employment tribunals.
Mental Ill-Health in the Workforce
This study aimed to establish the incidence of mental ill-health among the working population. It partially succeeded, despite being unable to access data from the Labour Force Survey (due to that data not being in the public domain). Reasonable data on incidence of mental ill-health was presented. A clear association between employability and mental health was demonstrated. The study also enabled a subsequent focus on key areas for investigation in future studies.
Predicting Future Musculoskeletal Disease
This research was designed to address a question of fundamental strategic and practical importance.
It was designed to identify activities predisposing to musculoskeletal symptoms and highlight areas where changes in working practices may reduce the high burden of musculoskeletal disease in the workplace. It studied only newly recruited workers so as to avoid skewing of results due to the "healthy worker effect".
The Role of Macrophage in Ultrafine Particle-Mediated Lung Injury
This research has substantial implications for people exposed to ultrafine particles (particles below 5 microns in size). It showed that particle size is a factor in the health effects of dust. It provided some of the basis for regulators to consider reviewing health effects of dust at work, and also provided the data for realistic modelling of overload to assist with calculation of required limits for no effect levels of ultrafine particles. It thus also has application in air quality issues.
The Neurotoxicity of Paint Solvents
This work had substantial practical implications for employees exposed to solvents at work, in particular producing evidence to demonstrate the need for always observing workplace recommended controls despite beliefs that there was no or little risk. The work demonstrated that workers exposed to solvents in paints who believed they were at no or little risk were actually starting to suffer neurological effects as a consequence of not observing recommended controls.
Osteoarthritis of the Knee
This research was designed to examine the constitutional factors that increase the susceptibility of developing osteoarthritis and local mechanical factors that increase the likelihood of its development in the knee joint. It also provided a basis on which to assess whether the case for compensation to workers is justifiable.
The research was thus of direct practical value to employment sectors where employees are at risk of developing the condition.
Last Update: 28-Jan-2008